can animals tear up hardwire cloth?

[jennyt]

if racoons can lift 50 pounds, how come they cannot tear hardwire cloth? my brain is glitching as to why this is the best option. i get they can fit through small spaces. but... why can't they tear through this stuff?

 

[nuthatched]

Hardware cloth is very tough. It's also a matter of leverage.
Where did you see that they can lift 50lbs?

 

[SourRoses]

Some humans can lift more than 200 pounds... but I can't see them tearing through hardware cloth.

 

[fowltemptress]

They absolutely can. It's more a matter of will they try. Dogs can get through, too. The idiots around here think nothing of sticking a GPS on their dogs and letting them roam at night, so of course we had one of those dogs kill my entire flock of guineas last year. The dog hooked its teeth through the hardware cloth and ripped a hole right in the middle of it, tearing the wire to shreds. I've found the wild animals to be less interested in trying something like that - they usually take time searching for weak points rather than attempting to bulldoze their way in. But I did have a raccoon accidentally get stuck in a cage I'd built using hardware cloth that I'd been storing in the hay barn. Poor thing couldn't find a weak point, so he finally tore through the middle of the cloth in order to get out. I use leftover fencing and install that over my hardware cloth now.

 

[Ridgerunner]

if racoons can lift 50 pounds, how come they cannot tear hardwire cloth? my brain is glitching as to why this is the best option. i get they can fit through small spaces. but... why can't they tear through this stuff?

Some can if they can get a grip. And it depends on the hardware cloth. Not all hardware cloth is created equal. The different sized holes make gripping easier or harder plus hardware cloth comes in different gauges, which means thicknesses, so they have different strengths.

Another issue can be how it is attached. However you attach it needs to be able to stand up to the predator. A lot of fencing fails because of the attachments.

I'll link an old thread on this topic. It has photos of torn hardware cloth to show it can be torn.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/dog-vs-hardware-cloth.1105056/#post_17001519

Properly installed chicken wire will stop many predators but several can tear chicken wire. Properly installed hardware cloth will stop most predators, especially the stronger gauges. Welded wire will stop many but some can get through the openings. What are you trying to stop? For most people, hardware cloth is the best option, especially if they are worried about snakes, weasels, rats, and such. I chose 2x4 welded wire as I was more concerned about coyotes, raccoons and big dogs.

 

[AGeese]

I misspoke in another thread on this, I use 1/2 inch hardware cloth which is stronger than 1/4 inch (at least from what I can see)